SKU: 11362339933

The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information

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The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And InformationThe Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information Every day, corporations are connecting the dots about our personal behaviorsilently scrutinizing clues left behind by our work habits and Internet use. The data compiled and portraits created are incredibly detailed, to the point of being invasive. But who connects the dots about what firms are doing with this information? The Black Box Society argues that we all need to

The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information

Every day, corporations are connecting the dots about our personal behavior—silently scrutinizing clues left behind by our work habits and Internet use. The data compiled and portraits created are incredibly detailed, to the point of being invasive. But who connects the dots about what firms are doing with this information? The Black Box Society argues that we all need to be able to do so—and to set limits on how big data affects our lives.

Hidden algorithms can make (or ruin) reputations, decide the destiny of entrepreneurs, or even devastate an entire economy. Shrouded in secrecy and complexity, decisions at major Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms were long assumed to be neutral and technical. But leaks, whistleblowers, and legal disputes have shed new light on automated judgment. Self-serving and reckless behavior is surprisingly common, and easy to hide in code protected by legal and real secrecy. Even after billions of dollars of fines have been levied, underfunded regulators may have only scratched the surface of this troubling behavior.

Frank Pasquale exposes how powerful interests abuse secrecy for profit and explains ways to rein them in. Demanding transparency is only the first step. An intelligible society would assure that key decisions of its most important firms are fair, nondiscriminatory, and open to criticism. Silicon Valley and Wall Street need to accept as much accountability as they impose on others.

'Recognized internationally as a landmark work of law and political economy.' - Commonweal

'If you are a person in America, then there are equations trying to learn more about you… Some of these equations work for private companies and some of them work for the government, but they all generate correlations based on your behavior… Frank Pasquale’s new book The Black Box Society is a tour of how computational intelligence has come to dominate three important parts of American life: reputation, search, and finance.' - New Republic

'Frank Pasquale’s notable new book, The Black Box Society, tries to come to grips with the dangers of ‘runaway data’ and ‘black box algorithms’ more comprehensively than any other book to date… It’s an important read for anyone who is interested in the hidden pitfalls of ‘big data’ and who wants to understand just how quantified our lives have become without our knowledge.' - Slate

'Everyone who uses the Internet for entertainment, education, news or commerce is implicated in a web of data collection whose breadth surpasses ordinary awareness… As [Pasquale’s] expose…shows, this is a society in which basic functions are performed in deliberate obscurity through the collection and algorithmic manipulation of personal data… In The Black Box Society, Pasquale finds reason to believe that even some of the most secretive and unresponsive institutions can be held to account. Elucidating the problem is a first step.' - Nature

'The Black Box Society offers a good dose of fresh thinking and may advance our debates over privacy. It also helps greatly that it is a good read, not just for those who are curious about privacy but also for those who are already familiar with the privacy literature.' - Science

'Frank Pasquale’s new book on the secret algorithms that motor the monstrous heart of big data is a timely work of non-fiction, a ‘true conspiracy’ about regulatory weakness in the face of technological hubris and greed.' - Flavorwire

'Pasquale has emerged as one of the go-to thinkers on Big Data and the algorithmic economy, and The Black Box Society (along with his Twitter feed) is a great—if discomfiting—place to start. You’ll come away overwhelmed by the speed and recklessness of data compilation and its uses and abuses.' - Flavorwire

'Required reading in many law school and computer science courses… Details how secret databases and little-known applications of AI algorithms have had harmful effects on finance, business, education, and politics. These opaque practices violate personal privacy, lower credit ratings, and make unfair or biased decisions on parole, mortgage, and job applications.' - Issues in Science and Technology

'By carefully breaking down ‘the business practices of leading Internet and finance companies, focusing on their use of proprietary reputation, search, and finance technologies,’ Pasquale pulls off an amazing feat of explanation, simultaneously and seamlessly explaining how and why black boxes exist, as well as what they can control and what happens when society entrusts black box technology with consequential decisions and hands immense power to the black box firms of Silicon Valley and Wall Street… The Black Box Society is a first-rate work of synthesis, combining ideas from law and economics, interpretive social science, science studies, and the philosophy of technology into an essential study of the political economy of information.' - Law Library Journal

'The Black Box Society is a frightening portrait of the ever more powerful shadowy world that blocks light from reaching our everyday lives. It is also a call to action, with a range of suggestions that inevitably pale in comparison to the gargantuan task at hand. But small steps sometimes have outsize consequences. Just ask the folks who control what we see, influence what we buy, and determine whether we can pay for it.' - Reading the Markets

'The algorithmic control that law scholar Frank Pasquale eloquently and intelligently details and analyzes goes beyond money information and into almost every aspect of our lives. For this reason, although it might appear merely to be a book about technology and finance, The Black Box Society, ultimately, is a radical and political work that deserves wide attention… The Black Box Society includes, for example, a fine explanation of the way that corporate and government surveillance work in concert and why we should be concerned about both… [Pasquale’s] brutal on the subject of the NSA, but devastating in his critique of Facebook, Twitter and Google and the myths that continue to surround them: myths of neutrality, myth about the ephemeral nature of their power and more. His analysis of search is pointed and poignant, underlining that we need to understand it better and treat search results more critically and sceptically… Pasquale’s detailed analyses, and his recipes not just for transparency but also for accountability, for more rigour in regulation and harder-hitting enforcement, deserve a careful read—and then action.' - Times Higher Education

'This book by Pasquale is disturbing. The premise is that corporate and public unchecked use of computer algorithms to collect and analyze data harms the public… Pasquale calls out Google, Facebook, and the financial industry for unchecked use of data to make profits and broken promises of privacy protection.' - Library Journal

SPECIFICATIONS:

Author:Frank Paskual - Фрэнк Паскуале

Publisher:Harvard University Press

Language:English

Publication Date:2016

Number of pages:320 pst

Format:Paperback

Width:156 mm / 6,1'

Height:235 mm / 9,3'

Weight:345 g

ISBN:9780674970847

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SKU: 11362339933

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4.2 ★★★★★
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Common-Sense-Is-Key
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 4
An easy PNR book to cure book hangovers.....
Format: Kindle
I enjoyed this as a short story; but nothing truly pulled me into this world to want to keep reading each story. I can sense the overarching villain arc w/ the HAF; yet it still wasn't enough to capture me long-term. It felt like too much focus was placed on progressing the romance part that everything else took a non-existent back seat. This did work well for my intentions of getting over a book-hangover slump. So there's that lol. A Tip to overcome a PNR book hangover, from a wonderful series or novel......read a trope-y, lighthearted, PNR that is easily predictable but adorable. Like this book. Honestly, I'm rarely into short stories that are turned into a ridiculous amount of books on different PNR characters. So I'm not the best at judging the merits of these stories. I'm a long-haul type of reader that lives for a series surrounding 1 lead female character & her harem (or singular partner). Occassionally, I'll find a series of short stories that are interesting enough to finish or pull me in completely. The rarity of that is countable on 1.5 hands, compared to the literal hundreds of fiction books I've read lol. With all of that, I will say this was fun because of the FMC's difficulties growing up & how that made her strong, the end reveals of her life, & the cute Epilogues. I never felt truly connected to any of the characters; but I did feel slightly compelled to just finish it to see how plot points would end. Unfortunately, due to a lack of character backstory explanations, I still don't understand Collete's "magic". Very little time was given to flesh out the backstory of the world this occurs in. I couldn't even guess what type of magic occurs in this world, aside from what little was revealed. A random scene sticks out to me...... we're introduced to a new magic type, in passing. No dialogue to expand. No hint at anything really. Then the scene moves on. That moment felt pointless to even mention, afterwards. It felt like the author was more concerned w/ romance than storyline. This is a common issue I have w/ short stories....authors write them for whatever reason; but too often it's an "either or" theme.....EITHER the author is writing ONLY for romance w/ storyline taking a minor role OR writing ONLY for storyline w/ some romance that ends up feeling forced. As I mentioned earlier, only a handful of short stories series have ever had a balance of both sides, for me, that I wanted to read all of them.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2021
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Darcie Reads A Lot
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
Great RH shapeshifting romance!
Format: Kindle
Oh my gosh, I adored this book! Voiceless is set in a blended reality with humans, witches, and shapeshifters of all kinds, but with a significant lack of acceptance from the humans that results in violence. And I am sucker for fated-mates/insta-connection and you get that in heaps and bounds in Voiceless! Colette’s introduction to the supernatural world added some challenges on top of not being able to effectively communicate with those around her. I enjoyed the overall plot; that there was danger and confrontation and resolution, albeit not nearly as much as I wanted. Voiceless is a short read and things escalate at a fast pace and a resolution is reached just as quickly. As a result, I think we miss out a bit on relationship and character development that we could’ve had if the book was little longer. While this is a RH/why-choose, most, if not all of the spice, is exclusively MF.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2025
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Jenny From The Bog
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 3
Cute
Format: Kindle
Very insta-love, but also cute with likable characters. The plot was good, though lacking in depth. The spice was fairly abrupt and lack-luster. Am enjoyable read, overall.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2026
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Caylee T.
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Another great story from this author!
Format: Kindle
I absolutely loved this book. Colette’s story was so sad yet sweet in the sense that yes she ran away from her controlling parents after hearing about arrangements being made for her. But sweet because fate was working in her favor because she ran into one of her mates on the bus. Turns out she had two more back in the town she was heading for. Dylan, Luca, & Hunter turned out to be exactly what Colette needed because the ease with which she felt comfortable around was just perfect. This was a fast burn with a pretty quick paced story as well, especially at towards the end, it all picked up pretty quickly towards the end. I absolutely loved the sweet factor & the epilogues were perfect. Amazing job!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025
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Julie R.
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 4
Cute read
Format: Kindle
This is a shorter book about a fox shifter who is mute but has telepathy for those she establishes a close emotional bond with. She leaves a rather cold home when she turns 18 and takes a train across country, running into one of her mates on a bus. It's a fated mates book, there's instant attraction but it takes a little while to give into the feelings. It's a fairly low spice level, more like a sweet palate cleanser. It's a standalone but there will be more books set in the same town.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2025

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